Читать книгу Chesapeake Crimes: Invitation to Murder - Donna Andrews - Страница 7

“Will you walk into my parlour, said the Spider to the Fly.” The nineteenth-century poem warns us that not every invitation is one you should accept. Invitations can be wonderful things, bringing people together or marking an occasion. They may create the happy anticipation of seeing good friends or making new ones, a sense of belonging, good food and drink, all with the excuse of dressing up or finding a new outfit.

But all that changes when crime writers have their way. Invitation to Murder, the ninth collection of Chesapeake Crimes stories, offers up a slew of intriguing stories featuring invitations of the most sinister sort.

Even the most innocent of situations can conceal deadly intent, so think twice before you RSVP. It turns out, nowhere is safe: From the cradle to the grave, these stories suggest that neighbors and community should be treated with caution. In “Good Morning, Green Leaf Class,” we find a tangled thread of classroom email that you ignore at your peril. In “Secrets to the Grave,” bad manners and blackmail are on the menu at an unexpected tea party, and “Guns and Yoga” is a nasty little tale about local politics and what really goes on behind city council meetings. In “The Do-Gooder,” a journey among homeless shelters and soup kitchens leaves us pondering ideas of whether justice is ever served or redemption is possible. “The Problem with Open-Ended Invitations” shows that even the best and most helpful of friends can exploit you. Two stories, “Make New Friends, But Keep the Old” and “Sunnyside,” are set in retirement homes and demonstrate how life there is fraught with greed and how our golden years can turn to lead.

Travel should be broadening, as long as the “what to pack list” doesn’t include “shroud” or “Kevlar.” “The Killing Winds” has a new detective and her mentor encountering a killer on a Patagonian trek, and “The Great Bedbug Incident and the Invitation of Doom” is a tale of travel horrors with an unexpected ending in London.

Even an invitation to fun and games doesn’t have to be anything of the sort. “Muggins” tells a tale of how a chance game of cribbage can change a life, and “The Mysterious Affair at the Escape Room” seems like an innocent diversion for mystery lovers until it turns out that more is at stake than solving the puzzle.

The workplace should be the most polite and professional of situations, but we see that isn’t the case when the government contract in “RFP/RIP” gives new meaning to the word “deadline.” “The Dame and Thaddeus Birdwhistle” teaches us that you never know what kind of new occupation you will discover in a good book. And in “All Tomorrow’s Parties,” we see a series of snapshots of a party of co-workers that begins with melancholy and turns to horror in less time than it takes a glass to shatter.

William Faulkner wrote, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” This is especially true of three of the stories: “The Color of Envy” is a cautionary story of greed and science (or is it magic?) in the old South. “Aumakua” combines family traditions, local legends, and Hawaiian history, with a treasure at stake. And in “True Colors,” a woman prominent in Washington, DC’s, highest circles must take action when her wild past catches up with her—from beyond the grave.

But never mind all my warnings. I cordially invite you to step into this literary parlor and help yourself to these seventeen deadly little morsels.

Dana Cameron writes across many genres, but especially crime and speculative fiction. Her work, inspired by her career in archaeology, has won multiple Anthony, Agatha, and Macavity Awards, and has been nominated for the Edgar Award. Dana’s Emma Fielding archaeology mysteries were optioned by Muse Entertainment; the third movie, based on More Bitter than Death, premiered on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel in January, 2019. When she’s not traveling or visiting museums, she’s usually yelling at the TV about historical inaccuracies. http://www.danacameron.com